Searing Meat

First I just want to say that I'm a total beginner when it comes to cooking. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/lookaround.gif

But I do want to learn and I have a question about searing. Is it normal for searing to create char on the meat? Also, what is the best type of pan to use for searing? It seems that everytime I use my non-stick pan, the spices stick to it like crazy and after every sear of the meat, I have to immediately wash it off or else it will harden and stay there making it more difficult to get rid of. I even try using non-stick cooking spray prior to searing, didn't work. Any suggestions from you pros would be great. Thanks for your help in advance. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif

First thing you want to do when you are trying to get a good sear on your meat is ditch your non-stick pan. They have a time and a place in the kitchen (cooking eggs) but not when it comes to searing meat. Depending on what you are trying to sear look to use stainless steel, enameled cast iron, regular cast iron, or steel. The non-sitck surface interfers with searing and you will never get a good sear. As for all that stuff that sticks to the pan-that's good stuff!!! After you sear your meat, deglaze the pan with a liquid, oftentimes wine and use that for the base of a pan sauce. There's a lot of flavor in all those bits.

As for the char, I suggest that you sear your meat with just salt and pepper. If you're coating it with spices or anything that has even a hint of sugar in it you will get blackened char and that is not good stuff. I do not use any kind of cooking sprays, I prefer real oil. If you don't want to put oil in the pan then just rub a little oil on the meat itself so it won't stick. When you place the meat in the pan initially it will stick. Don't move it, it's busy searing. When the meat releases on it's own without you tugging on it then it is ready to be flipped. After it has seared you can then add some more spices/herbs or whatever. Now they probably won't burn.

Thanks for the tips everyone. I have another question, so right after I cook my chicken, it was nice and juicy. But when I stored it in the refrigerator and ate another piece the next day, the chicken was all dry and lost its juiciness. What was up with that? By the way, I stored my chicken in one of those plastic food containers. What am I doing wrong??